Chandler Burr launches 'Untitled' fragrance project with OpenSky

Chandler Burr has teamed up with OpenSky to launch a new project called 'Untitled'. Starting this Friday, on the first day of every month Chandler will choose a perfume that’s already on the market – it could be something famous, or some obscure niche scent. However, the scent will contain no indication as to what it is - it will have no name, fragrance house, or recognisable packaging. It will be housed in a plain 50ml lab bottle. The idea is to allow you to experience these scent works as scent and nothing else.

According to OpenSky "He will give shoppers only the guidance of his carefully chosen words to understand each and determine if the fragrance is right for them. His goal is to both enable and encourage shoppers to rethink perfume as a work of art, free from all visual cues and marketing techniques. Scents include those from the late 19th century to last week, in all styles and all by the greatest scent artists in the world."

There will be only 100 bottles available in the series, each month. The first fragrance called S01E01 (Season One Episode One) and will launch this Friday, June 1st on OpenSky and the identity of the scent as well as more about the artist who created it will be revealed to shoppers on the last day of June. The series will continue with a new launch on the first of every month and a subsequent reveal on the last day of each month.

An interesting idea, but at the same time I wasn't sure I wanted to go through all the stuff, and give out all the masses of information that Open Sky requires of a person, so was unable to find out anything further about this on their site.

I love the idea and I find Chandler's style extremely entertaining. There's one flaw in this concept (if one were to approach this as a purely intellectual/scientific exercise: the fragrances aren't devoid of marketing influence; they're now just "curated by Chandler Burr").

Couldn't agree more! At a time when 'traditional' advertising is becoming less effective than it used to be, 'friendly expert' endorsement has the potential to become more powerful and influential than ever. You're absolutely right: the very fact that CB is recommending these perfumes is a form of marketing.

Still, as you say, that doesn't make the idea any less intriguing or endearing.